Morgoth
Character Synopsis Morgoth, once named Melkor, is the primary antagonist of The Silmarillion, and the master and predecessor of Sauron, in-turn eponymous primary antagonist of The Lord of the Rings History. Once part of the Valar (Archangels), Melkor became the first Dark Lord who was named Morgoth Bauglir in Beleriand and Middle-earth. He became greedy and hungry for Light, but seeing it was inaccessible to him, he turned to Dark, coveting it and, by seducing many Archangels and angels and corrupting them for his course, he filled Dark with fear for all future life. Melkor marred the Great Music of the Valar with his selfish ambitions and inspired fear and corruption amongst his brothers and sisters. Eventually, Iluvatar, God, rebuked Melkor for his pride and reminded him that pride was his weakness. Ashamed, Melkor withdrew, but when Iluvatar showed the Valar His new creation: Earth, Melkor longed to possess it. He gained a foothold on Earth's newly created surface and fell into a battle with his brethren, which lasted all through Earth's early history. Eventually, Melkor claimed Kingship over Earth and declared himself the god of the realm, but it took the combined efforts of Elves, humans, Valar, and all the Free Peoples of the world to defeat him. The Valar captured him and thrust him through the Door of Night bound in a great chain, Angainor. Character Statistics Tiering: At least 3-A | At least 2-C Verse: Lord of the Rings Name: Morgoth, Melkor Gender: Male Age: As old as the universe itself Classification: Vala, Dark Lord Special Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Flight, Regeneration (Low-Godly), Immortality(Types 1, 3 and 4), Dark Magic (Energy Manipulation, projection, and Forcefield Creation via Words of Command. Invisibility via control over the Unseen World, an evil place which he was implied to have created, being the source of all wickedness), Shapeshifting (Was revealed to have spent some time with the Atani under the gaze of a stately figure, while later appearing as a Dark Lord in his fight with Fingolfin), Size Alteration(Appeared humanoid while among the Atani, while growing near as massive as tower while fighting Fingolfin), Magma and Elemental Manipulation (Created volcanic explosions), Heat and Ice Manipulation (Created unnatural heat and cold), Curse Manipulation (Cursed Húrin's children to doom and despair), Earth Manipulation (Kept the earth unformed for many years as Melkor), Fear and Darkness Manipulation (The Balrogs are implied to derive much of their power from him), possibly Time Manipulation and stop (Bragged that he was the master of the fates of Arda. Posses all the powers of all Ainur, including Vairë), Weather Manipulation (Can create clouds of ash), Air Manipulation (The brother of Manwë. Posses the powers of all other Ainur), Empathic Manipulation (The lords of the Ainur could create joy and, by extension, sorrow), Invulnerability (The Ainur are immune from harm via conventional weaponry, as seen when, upon unlocking more of his divine power, Gandalf became invulnerable) Illusion Creation, Transmutation, Precognition, Fire Manipulation, Telekinesis, Poison Manipulation, Life Manipulation (Created the Orcs as Melkor) Death Manipulation (Kept Húrin alive throughout all his years of imprisonment), Mind Manipulation (Bound Húrin to his chair with a thought), Resistance to Death and Fire Manipulation (The Balrogs are implied to derive much of their power from him. In Lord of the Rings the land of the dead is a real tangible place, Mandos, and can be affected and exited. Ainur don't go there upon death, rather becoming spirits until the regenerate. The only way to keep them there is if they are physically brought there and held by physical might), can sap the power from Ulmo's waters, possess the powers of all other Ainur andpresumably everyone else in all Arda/Eä, Intangibility and Non-Corporeality (At the very least in spirit form) | All the powers of the Ainur amplified to a much higher level, though he might have lost his dark magic, Intangibility and Non-Corporeality, Reality Warping, Conceptual Manipulation (Altered the Ainulindalë which made every concept and universe in Arda) Destructive Ability: At least Universe Level (Superior to the collective power of all The Ainur. Who were stated to have full control over all physical matter within Eä. Caused all other Valar to free to Middle Earth due to Morgoth's immense power), grew significantly weaker over time (Poured the majority of his power into Arda and his servants, leaving him drained) | At least Multi-Universe Level '(Singlehandedly changed all of Eru's "Themes", of which the third was responsible for the creation of the Universe and are akin to universal concepts. Vastly superior to all Valar, even when their powers are combined, it hardily can stand a chance against Morgoth. Created the very concept of Discord with only his thoughts) 'Speed: Massively FTL+ '(Far superior in speed to Ancalagon the Black, who can travel to the outer layers of Space and return in less than a day) | '''Immeasurable '(Transcends basic time, which the Valar did not have to abide by. The Valar can move and live at any speed of thought of motion they desire) '''Lifting Ability: Class T+ | Immeasurable Striking Ability: At least Universal (The Ainur, who were in full control over all physical matter within Ea were outmatched by Morgoth. Also caused the physical forms of various Valar to free to Middle Earth out of fear) | Multi-Universal (Changed all of Eru's Themes and concepts that were created in Ea. Superior to all the combined powers of The Valar. Created a universal concept with mere thought) Durability: At least Universe Level (Able to easily fight against several other Valar, including Varda, while maintaining the upper hand), grew significantly weaker over time (Took permanent damage from Fingolfin) | At least', Multi-Universe Level' (Is considered the second strongest being in existence only short of Eru themselves. Morgoth created numerous concepts, including Discord with merely his stray thoughts. The Valar, even as a group cannot hope to match Morgoth in battle) Stamina: Extremely High | Limitless Range: Several Kilometers melee range due to size, Continental to Planetary with magic and reality warping | Multi-Universal Intelligence: Able to corrupt the creation of reality, was able to manipulate Ungoliant into stealing the Silmarils, corrupted half the Ainur into joining him. Weaknesses: Has a limited amount of power that goes down the more he uses it as Morgoth | None notable Versions: Manifestation | Prime/True Form Other Attributes List of Equipment: Grond, the Silmarils Notable Attacks/Techniques: Greatest of the Ainur: As the first and greatest of the Ainur Morgoth is far above his brethren. He posses a share in all their power, thus having all of their powers to a lesser degree. He is thereby a sort of jack-of-all-trades. This may be one of the reasons for his great control over life and death. * Healing (Power of Estë): Estë was the Vala charged with tending to the hurt an weary, and as such it is very likely that her magic is connected to healing and tending. Further supporting this is how she and her servants could preserve a corpse's appearance indefinitely. * Telepathy (Power of the Istari): The Istari can keep in telepathic contact with allies, gain information from the minds of others, detect and resist mental compulsion (Such as that used by Sauron, or Saruman's corruption of Théoden), and even dominate the minds of others. They can also intimidate others, causing themselves to appear gigantic and threatening to others. Corruption: Morgoth can corrupt anything, slowly twisting it into something dark and profane. Certain elements seem harder to drain the power from. Water is almost invulnerable to his corruption, whereas gold can be twisted to darkness very easily. This is likely the reason for the One Ring being made of gold. This grew so severe that it is said all of Arda is Morgoth's ring. * Power absorption: Morgoth can "sap" the power out of anything, consuming it and turning it into something dark. He seems to be able to absorb the energy of light (And should possess the powers of Ungoliant), though it causes him great pain (See the Silmarils). Creation: Morgoth can create new things within Arda. However, he cannot grant them, souls, instead only twisting the creations of others. However, he can create souless things, such as Dragons or dark spirits (See below). Dark Lord: Morgoth is a massive and terrifying Dark Lord. As such he has several powers related to darkness and evil. He uses these powers during the War of the Great Jewels to help defeat the Elves and Edain. His mere presence is terrifying and awe-inspiring. * Volcanoes: Morgoth can force volcanoes to erupt, creating massive waves of lava and fire. He used this power to attain victory in the infamous Dagor Bragollach. In that famous battle, he caused Thangorodrim to belch forth fire and smoke, killing many Elves and Edain. * Storms: Morgoth can create massive storms of ash and smoke to shroud the presence of his armies and sow confusion among his enemies. His servant, Sauron, later used this ability to hide the Sun and ease the passing of his armies * Shadow: Morgoth can create shrouds of darkness, similar to his storms, to hide the presence of his armies and intimidate his enemies. He used this to create a layer of darkness over the home of the Atani (Men) in an effort to convince them to serve him. * Terrible aura: As Dark Lord, Morgoth is surrounded by an aura of fear and dread. The existence of this aura is unsurprising given his nature as a mountainous giant, clad in black armor. He is also surrounded by an aura of unnatural terror, like that of the Balrogs. * Godlike strength: Morgoth has incredible strength and endurance, having survived blows from Fingolfinand rent massive pits in the ground. He was so enormous that his blood could fill even these pits and was described as smoking. True form: As one of the Ainur, Morgoth posses a vastly more powerful true form. In this true form, he posses far stronger abilities, transcending linear time and having the power to warp concepts and physical laws. * Ainulindalë: To unleash his conceptual power, Morgoth (Known as Melkor at the time) most take part in the Ainulindalë, the song that brought the world into being. Here his voice allows him to change the rules of reality, creating and destroying physical laws and pocket universes. Clairvoyance: Morgoth was implied to have clairvoyant abilities, as, when Húrin saw all that Morgoth saw, he could see all the misfortune that befell his children, caused by the curse of Morgoth. It was likely that Morgoth could see most of Arda, and knew much of its happenings, given that within it was bound most of his might. Dark magic: Morgoth is a sorcerer and practitioner of dark magic, likely having invented it along with Sauron. He almost certainly possess the powers of Sauron, and is confirmed to wield magic such as the creation and control of dark spirits (See below). * Words of Command: The Words of Command are powerful spells, much more dangerous than normal ones. The first recorded use of a Word of Command was when Gandalf used it to close a door, with the Durin's Bane using his magical knowledge to try and open it, leading to its destruction. Words of Command may have a relation to the Anulindalë, where the entire world was formed by words strung together in song, with the Words of Command possibly being extensions or continuations of the music. If so, this may be the only way to change the original music except for by the actions of man, making it one of the most potent forms of magic in Lord of the Rings. The spells Gandalf referred to may be Words of Command, with men not needing any do to being able to work outside the music without needing Words of Command, which might work as a sort of cheat code. * Necromancy: Necromancy in Lord of the Rings is very vaguely defined. All that is known of it is that it is practiced by Sauron (Hence his title the Necromancer) and likely by Morgoth. However, given the existence of undead in LOTR, necromancy probably still has the classic definition of resurrecting the dead and using death-related magic. ** Dark spirits: Morgoth posses the power to create dark spirits, such as the ones he summoned against Tilion. There have also been cases of sorcerers like Morgoth creating and controlling barrow wights; terrifying spirits that haunt the barrow downs. In all likelihood, this is an application of necromancy. * Spellcraft: Spellcraft is not an official term, yet rather the best term to capture the art of creating spells via potions and metals. Examples of spellcraft include the plantiri, magical stones crafted in Valinor; Durin's door, an ithildin door crafted by Celebrimbor; the Rings of Power, magic rings that grant invisibility to those who use them, which where crafted by the Elves of Eregion and the Silmarils, magic jewels crafted by Fëanor. Spellcraft can be used to manipulate objects and give them special properties, making them far more potent in combat. Most Elven swords appear to have magical qualities. Spellcraft usually revolves around using and/or creating magical substances runes and other, more obscure forms of magic. Being one of the Ainur, and a sorcerer himself, this should not be beyond the reach of Morgoth's magic. ** Catoptromancy: Catoptromancy, or mirror magic, is the practice of enchanting an object so that it can be used to give the user clairvoyance or precognition. This was used by Galadriel to enchant her mirror, allowing her to see the past, present, and future, presumably via spellcraft. Being a skilled sorcerer Morgoth should be more than capable using this power. * Control over the Unseen World: The Unseen World, also known as the wraith-world, is a parallel universe in which wraiths and spirits reside. To enter the wraith-world requires one to bring apportion of their essence into it, such as via the use of Rings of Power. Those who enter the wraith-world become invisible, and it is possible that if they brought the entirety of their essence into it, they would become completely intangible. Morgoth almost certainly has great control over it, perhaps even creating it. Cursing: Morgoth can curse his enemies to doom and despair, such as when he cursed the house of Húrin to despair and darkness. However, eventually, this backfired on him, leading to his death at the hands of Húrin's son, Túrin. However, whether Túrin was given the power to kill Morgoth by the curse, or for some other reason, was never confirmed. Powers of the Ainur: As the strongest Valar, Melkor has access to wide variety of potent and devastating supernatural abilities, for the Ainur (The Valar specifically) were created as elemental spirits, and each has divine authority and absolute control over a certain aspect of nature. Each and every one of the Ainur is also able to manipulate magical energies and reality to serve their needs, and take any form they wish, even intangible and non-corporeal spiritual forms. Given he is a Vala (And the strongest of them no less), above any of the Maiar, there is no doubt he can use all of the basic Ainur powers. * Shapeshifting: Morgoth can change his form to appear both pleasing and terrifying. During his fight with Fingolfin, he appeared as a terrible Dark Lord, while he appeared pleasing when he met with the first Men. * Elemental manipulation: As one of the Ainur, beings who are foremost elemental spirits, Morgoth has great control over said elements. Each of the Maiar have varying control over a sub-element, whereas the Valar have full control over a true element. Melkor, however, has a share in the power of all Valar. ** Life and death manipulation: It seems that Morgoth has great control over life and death; far greater than all other Valar. Examples of this can be seen when he cursed Húrin to never die and twisted the Elves to give life to the Orcs. This may be connected to his nature as the first and greatest of the Ainur (See above). * Empathy: 'The Ainur are surrounded by an a powerful aura, which can affect those around them, bringing joy and presumably sorrow to those near him: ''"In Beleriand King Thingol upon his throne was as the lords of the Maiar, whose power is at rest, whose joy is as an air that they breathe in all their days, whose thought flows in a tide untroubled from the heights to the deeps." * '''Foresight/Hindsight: As one of the Ainur, Morgoth can see the past and future. Given his nature as leader of the dark powers and his part in the War of the Great Jewels, this ability should be very useful for him. * Spirit form: As one of the Valar, it was highly likely that Melkor had the typical Ainur ability to cast off his physical form like a snake shedding its skin, and take on an intangible and non-corporeal spiritual form. In this spiritual state, the Ainur can travel forward and backward in time (Though they are unable to affect the future or the past, only see it). Though, it is possible that Melkor lost this ability after becoming Morgoth. Of the Ainur's spirit forms and precognitive powers this was said: Extra Info: *Melkor and Morgoth are both the same being. *Melkor is his true name given by Eru, whereas Morgoth (meaning "the dark enemy") was given to him by his enemies. *The change in name has nothing to do with anything except for where in the timeline it took place. Others Notable Victories: Notable Losses: Inconclusive Matches: Category:Characters Category:Lord of the Rings Category:Books Category:Villains Category:Gods Category:Tyrants Category:Spirits Category:Psychics Category:Sadists Category:Demons Category:Kings Category:Immortals Category:Magic Category:Darkness Users Category:Fear Users Category:Earth Users Category:Magma Users Category:Fire Users Category:Illusionist Category:Death Users Category:Life Users Category:Time Benders Category:Emotion Controllers Category:Shapeshifters Category:Curse Wielders Category:Weather Users Category:Conceptual Control Category:Reality Warpers Category:Non-Corporeal Beings Category:Intangibility Users Category:Mind Users Category:Antagonists Category:Ice Users Category:Energy Manipulators Category:Barrier Creation Users Category:Transmutation Users Category:Precognition Users Category:Invulnerability Users Category:Poison Users Category:Ainur Category:Valar Category:Tier 3 Category:Tier 2